


Photograph

by TimmyJaybird



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Lian loves her dads, M/M, Roy is so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-02 02:43:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6547417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimmyJaybird/pseuds/TimmyJaybird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy's in love. Roy's in that type of stomach-flipping love that makes him sentimental, and he wouldn't change a thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> It's been too long since I wrote about my favorite family. Blame Ed Sheeran's "Photograph".

Roy settled down into the wooden chair, pulled up to the desk off towards the corner of the room. Sitting behind it was a middle aged woman, who was smiling at him rather  _ pleasantly _ .

 

“Mr. Harper, thank you for making it in.”

 

“Thanks for accommodating,” Roy said, “I know parent-teacher conferences were  _ last week _ and all.” The woman held her hand up, shaking her head.

 

“No need. I know you are a very busy man. And Lian… she’s an exceptional little lady, so I’m not very concerned we had to push this off. Will your…” she paused for a moment, before her smile grew, “it’s husband now, isn’t it?”

 

Roy chuckled, nodding, absentmindedly reaching his hands together in his lap, to fiddle with his wedding band.

 

“That is so lovely for the both of you. I do remember Lian going on about it when the year started.”

 

“She was excited to tell you. She liked you, back in kindergarten.”

 

The teacher laughed. “Hopefully I won’t turn into a wicked witch now that it’s second grade. I must say, I’m happy they moved me, though. She’s a pleasure to have in class, and I was thrilled to see her name on my roster. Now, will your husband be joining us?”

 

“No. Jason is… out of town on work. Has been for a few days now.” She nodded, and Roy added, “He would love to be here, though. I know he’ll be upset he missed this.”

 

She held her hand up, calming quieting Roy. “You don’t have to defend his absence, Mr. Harper. I remember him from my first year with Lian- and I am not thinking any less of him for missing this. Lian speaks highly of him. Jason, right?” Roy nodded. She smiled again, pulling open a drawer to her desk and pulling out a rather large folder. “I’ve been collecting art from the students, for the past month now. We’re planning on having a family night to showcase our students and their lovely talents and hard work, sometime soon.”

 

“It’s been brought up at PTA meetings, a few times,” Roy said, and the woman laughed.

 

“I  _ did _ forget, you’re a part of the PTA. Well, I was going to keep these all a surprise for the parents, but… I think you deserve a little sneak peak.” She flipped open the folder, thumbing through, before she pulled out a few papers, spread them out on her desk. “Lian is a rather avid drawer.”

 

“She’s got a… cousin on Jason’s side who is very into visual art. She’s rather fond of him.” Roy didn’t need to say Damian’s name to see him, in his head, sketching with Lian sitting right up against his leg, constantly trying to lean into his lap to take in every line he sketched.

 

The kid never pushed her away, either.

 

Roy leaned closer, looked at the drawings. Each one was a colorful, cramped page- and Roy noticed very quickly that  _ each _ drawing boasted all three of them.

 

“Most kids,” her teacher was saying, “Like to draw their family, their house. But they will also draw themselves alone, animals,  _ fantasy _ . Lian, however… she always seems content with family portraits.” The woman pushed one towards Roy. “I asked the kids, last week, to draw something that made them truly happy. A moment where they felt real joy.”

 

Roy stared down at the paper. In Lian’s sketchy drawing style- which he knew  _ quite _ well- she’d drawn he and Jason, in profile, the edges of their faces touching. He assumed it was a  _ kiss _ . They were both wearing black, and she’d drawn giant flowers all around them, herself standing by Roy n a pretty dress he  _ recognized _ .

 

The one she’d worn at their wedding.

 

“I asked her about it,” her teacher continued, “Why she chose this one. And Lian said she was happy because you and your husband were happy. Because she’s happy when you’re happy, Mr. Harper. And because she felt like your husband was truly a part of the family, now.” Roy glanced up, and behind his eyes, felt a heated stinging. He swallowed, as she began gathering up the drawings very carefully, to tuck them away. “You have an exceptional daughter, Mr. Harper. And I just wanted you to see how much she truly loves you and your husband.”

 

“I… appreciate that,” Roy said, his voice subtle, down to a whisper- afraid it might crack. “She’s the most remarkable lady in my life.”

 

*

 

Roy left his head tipped back, sitting in the school parking lot. He was waiting for Lian to come bursting out, but knew there was a good ten minutes, before that happened.

 

He shifted, fished around in his pocket until he could dig his wallet out, flipping open the well worn leather. The crease was cracking, and it made him want to  _ laugh _ , because Jason had been muttering at him to replace it for months, easily.

 

He licked his lips, tugged out the rather  _ thick _ stack of pictures he kept crammed in there. Didn’t matter that he had a phone full of them- there was something  _ nostalgic _ about having physical copies, folded, worn at the edges. He stared down, at Lian’s plump, flushed baby face, those dark eyes so wide. The picture had a tear along two edges, little crinkles and cracks from being folded at times-

 

Didn’t matter. It was his little girl, all the same. And to think, she was  _ eight _ now. Eight and exceptionally smart, put so much  _ hard work _ into everything she did-

 

Eight and just wanting her dad to be  _ happy _ .

 

Roy flipped to the next one, him holding her up to his cheek, her little face cracked in a messy laugh. She had been so  _ small _ , so easy to lift up, to cradle in a single arm, if he wanted.

 

Another flip, and he had to pause- because now, Lian was three, and she was sitting, content, on Jason’s lap, pointing excitedly to the book he was reading her. Roy rubbed his thumb along Jason’s cheek, felt his smile wavering as that hot sting came back, behind his eyes. From day one, Lian had been just as smitten with Jason as  _ he _ was, Roy knew. Just as in awe of the man who made them feel like they were, at the end of the day,  _ safe _ .

 

Another flip- and it was he and Jason. He and Jason with Jason’s bed-tousled hair, his grey eyes tired but so  _ gorgeous _ , those freckles seeming to stand out on his cheeks like stardust. And Roy had his chin on Jason’s shoulder, could see their fridge behind them- recognized Lian’s old drawings.

 

_ Another flip _ \- and it was just Jason. Just Jason and his cigarette, not realizing Roy was watching him, looking like a ghost straight from Roy’s heart. Looking like every bit the man Roy had fallen so hard in love with, all these years ago.

 

The final flip was their wedding, and Roy had to set the pictures and his wallet down, in his lap. He tugged his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it and clicked Jason’s name, holding it up to his ear as he reached up, wiped at one corner of his eyes.

 

The line rang a few times, before Jason’s voicemail picked up. The moment there was a  _ beep _ , Roy realized what he was doing and felt utterly  _ ridiculous _ , but-

 

“Hey Jaybaby,” he said, his voice a little hoarse. He cleared his throat. “I uh… I just met with Lian’s teacher. Just thought you’d wanna know everything is going fine. Lian’s blowing her away. Reading way above her expected level and all- your fault there. And…” he paused, exhaled. “I just wanted to say I miss you. We both do. Come home soon.” He paused again, and added with a little smile, “I love you, Jason.”

 

Roy was ending the call, pulling his phone away, when the car door was tugged open. Lian’s backpack was dropped on the floor as she said, very loudly, “Hi daddy!”

 

“Hi princess,” Roy said, clearing his throat again, dropping his phone in one of the cupholders. Lian crawled in, tugged the door shut. “How was school?”

 

“Okay. We started a new book and I got to read some of it to the class!”

 

“Did you now?” Roy grinned, watched as Lian tugged her seat belt over her lap, waited to hear the  _ click _ of her seatbelt before he started the car. Lian looked over, before she pointed at his lap.

 

“Were you looking at pictures?” Roy glanced down and laughed, scooping them up. He closed his battered wallet, dropped it over his phone, and held the pictures out to Lian, who took them, laying them out in her lap as Roy started towards the street. “Is that met?”

 

Roy glanced over, and nodded. “When you were  _ very _ little. I could hold you in one arm, back then.”

 

“Daddy your arms are big, if you can hold Jayjay, you can still hold me.”

 

Roy started laughing over that, switching lanes. “Lian, honey, daddy  _ can’t _ lift Jayjay with one arm. He’s too big.”

 

Lian hummed, pushing the picture of her aside, looking down at the one of Roy holding her up to his cheek. “He is big,” she agreed, “You both are. Does that mean I’m gonna be really big one day, too?”

 

“Your mom wasn’t  _ that _ tall,” Roy said with a laugh. “You might be tiny, squirt.” Lian pouted, pushing through the pictures more, picking up the one of Roy and Jason, in their kitchen.

 

“Daddy?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You’re happy.” Lian didn’t look up, when Roy glanced over. She was studying the picture, the smile Roy boasted, the  _ mock annoyance _ Jason had that didn’t make it up to his gorgeous eyes. “With Jason.”

 

Hearing her say  _ Jason _ was always a little weird. Was a reminder that he wouldn’t be  _ Jayjay _ when she was twenty, that someday, Roy wouldn’t be  _ daddy _ .

 

He wanted to push that day off, as long as he could.

 

“I am,” Roy said. “I love him.”

 

“How much?”

 

“ _ A lot _ .”

 

“A lot a lot?”

 

Roy laughed. “So much we don’t have words for it.” Lian gasped, setting the picture down.

 

“Daddy we have to  _ make _ a word then!  _ We have to _ !” Roy laughed harder, as Lian pushed all the pictures together, dropped them in the cup holder with everything else.

 

“You know, Jason’s  _ way _ better with words than I am.”

 

Lian pursed her lips, before she nodded. “Okay, when Jayjay gets home, we’re gonna make a word.” She paused, and then, “Daddy? When  _ is _ Jayjay coming home?”

 

Roy glanced down at the stack of pictures, and felt his chest going tight. “Hopefully soon.”

 

*

 

Roy heard the sounds of the television from the stairs, as he came down, toweling off his wet hair. Jason’s pajama pants were hanging low on his hips,  _ slightly _ too big. But Roy would be damned before he stopped wearing Jason’s clothes- especially when his husband wasn’t there, and he needed some bit of him to be wrapped up in.

 

“Pumpkin, have you seen my phone?” He poked his head into the living room. Lian was sitting on the floor, up against the coffee table, her pencil working away at her math sheet as cartoons played in the background.

 

“Kitchen?” She asked, and Roy snapped his fingers, turning just as she yelled back, “ _ And I’m not a pumpkin _ !”

 

Roy chuckled to himself, dropping his towel over the back of a chair and finding his phone on the counter. He picked it up, saw one missed called and one voicemail, with  _ Jaybaby _ right next to them.

 

He frowned, clicking on the voicemail and lifting his phone. Of  _ course _ he’d miss the call. Of course.

 

“Tell me you’re behaving yourself and just in the shower and not blowing up my house,” it started, and Roy snorted.  _ That was his Jason _ . “I got your message. Tell the little darlin’ I’m so proud of her. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. Next conference,  _ I swear _ .” There was a bit of guilt, in Jason’s voice, and Roy knew it hurt him, to miss anything of Lian’s. He wanted to be there every second of her life, wanted to see every single step, hear every word-

 

He loved Lian just as much as Roy did, and maybe Roy was more than a little in love with that.

 

“I’ll be home as soon as I can be. Promise. Make sure she keeps you in line, Roy.” There was a pause, and then, with a smile- because Roy could  _ hear _ it- “I love you. Wait for me to come home.”

 

Roy smiled, so much his cheeks ached, as the voicemail ended. He set his phone down, gripping at the counter and feeling so stupidly in love, in that tiny moment, that he wanted to let his heart fly free of his ribs. Couldn’t fathom how he had these moments of falling for Jason, all over again. Like it was the first time he’d seen those gorgeous eyes stare at Roy like he really  _ meant _ something.

 

He was still smiling, when he heard Lian calling from the living room, “Daddy! Can you come check my math homework!”

 

Roy pushed off the counter, heading towards his daughter’s voice, knowing that every time Jason looked at him now- looked at  _ Lian _ \- it was with pure wonder, like he’d just found a new constellation, in a sky he’d stared up at a thousand times.

 

*

 

Roy swam to consciousness to the feeling of his bed dipping, of a hand on his bare waist- warm, calloused- and a mouth, against his forehead, then the bridge of his nose.

 

The scent of cigarettes, cologne, exhaust- and skin he knew every damn  _ inch _ of.

 

His eyelids fluttered open, and when his vision focused, there was Jason, smiling down at him, that perfect curve to those shockingly pink lips, the crinkles by his eyes that meant the smile went all the way up. “Jay?” He whispered, saw a flash of teeth in the smile than, before those lips pressed to the tip of his nose. Jason chuckled.

 

“Hi baby.”

 

Roy sat up slowly, yawning, reaching up to rake his hair back out of his face. “What-”

 

“Am I doing here? Well, turns out I missed you an awful lot.” He rubbed his hand along Roy’s waist, moving towards his back, shifting closer. “Decided it was worth driving all night to get back a little sooner.”

 

Roy smiled, felt a little heat in his cheeks, before he reached out, got his arms around Jason’s neck and pulled him in. “C’mere,” he mumbled, and Jason moved with him, like he had a thousand times, pressed his mouth to Roy’s in the sort of sweet kiss that had Roy’s heart fluttering, thens topping dead- only to kick back to life again, as Jason got both arms around him.

 

The room felt utterly silent, around them. The house was still sleeping, and all Roy heard was the liquid sound of their lips moving, Jason’s subtle breath, his own pulse, against his temples. He pushed closer,  _ felt _ Jason chuckle, before he husband pulled back, only to press his forehead against Roy’s.

 

“I really missed you,” he admitted, as Roy played with the hair, at the nape of his neck.

 

“I missed you too. And someone  _ else _ missed you terribly.” Jason smiled at that, before Roy asked, “What time is it?”

 

“Your alarm is going to go off in five minutes to get her up for school.” Roy’s smile grew, at that.

 

“You got back in time to see her.”

 

“Of course I did. Wouldn’t miss a morning with that munchkin for the world.” He leaned in, pecked Roy’s lips again, before Jason was untangling himself, moving off the bed. Roy watched him walk towards the door, before he climbed out himself, heading for the door as Jason moved down the hallway.

 

Roy hung back, a few steps, as Jason cracked open Lian’s door, headed over to her bed and brushed her hair back from her forehead. There was a moment of nothing at all, before Lian’s eyes open and she was sitting up quickly, squealing  _ Jayjay! _ Very loudly.

 

Jason scooped her up, held her and kissed her temple, as Lian got her arms around his neck and clung to him. Roy could hear her, a loud  _ you’re home! _ Followed by,  _ can you do my hair for school? _

 

Jason was laughing, and the sound had Roy’s stomach going to knots. “Of course darlin’. Whatever you want. Let’s get you something cute to wear, huh?” He set her down, and Roy moved for the doorway, leaning against it to watch as Lian meticulously opened up her dresser drawers, and had to get Jason’s approval on anything before she considered it.

 

Roy shook his head, leaving them after a moment and heading for his room, catching his alarm just before it went off. He set his phone back down, next to his wallet, before he flipped it open, digging out the pictures again-

 

Staring at last picture, from their wedding. The two of them, holding Lian up between them. Roy had her supported against him, and she had an arm around each of their necks, was mid laugh and glowing like the little angel she was, beneath her devilish ways. Smiling just as big as Jason and Roy were.  _ Happy _ , just as they were.

 

Roy tucked it back away, sighing to himself, unsure how this was actually his life. But against the sounds of Lian laughing loudly in her room, and Jason’s very loud  _ I can’t braid with you fidgeting _ , he knew it  _ was _ . It was his life, and he cherished every single second of it. Stored them all in his head and his chest, and swore he’d never let them slip away. He’d keep them all tucked away, even if it was just in the pockets of his ripped jeans.


End file.
